Stirling Castle is a huge complex of royal buildings, workshops, and fortifications atop a huge volcanic rock that rises dramatically from the lowland plains near the River Forth. It’s strategic position made Stirling Castle an important stronghold and center of power throughout Scotland’s turbulent Medeival and Renaissance history....
Rosslyn Chapel was founded in 1446 and stands proudly today as one of the most beautiful historic chapels in Scotland. The beauty of this chapel led to it being used as the setting for the finale of the film of Dan Brown’s best-selling novel The DaVinci Code....
The Isle of Mull and the Middle Hebrides Islands are worth spending some time exploring. Iona in particular stands out due to its historical significance and its beautifully fresh air and pleasant scenery. On Mull, Tobermory is quite picturesque...
Tucked away in a less-treveled corner of Scotland’s West Coast, pastoral Kilmartin Glen has been home to local inhabitants for around five millenium. Over 350 Neolithic and Bronze-age monuments, cairns, and rock art sties dot the fields in this picturesque glen, along with an important Dark Age hilltop fort, a historic church, and a Medieval ... Read more...
A portion of this grand fairytale castle is tourable, as are the extensive gardens around the castle. Built in the mid-1700’s and expanded in 1877, this Baroque castle is a popular showstopper and a centerpiece in the Argyll region which was used as a film location for Downton Abbey....
Stunning scenery meets a famously tragic history in gorgeous Glen Coe, in the West Highlands of Scotland. The drive through this glacially carved valley is absolutely breathtaking, with myriad viewpoints en route. ...
Likely the oldest surviving structure in Glasgow, construction of the city’s mighty Cathedral began in the 1100s. The style is ornate and distinctly Gothic, with similarities to other large cathedrals of the day like Notre Dame and The Se in Lisbon...
Scotland is stuffed with castles, with a higher density of them than anywhere else in Europe. Our first visit to Scotland revealed the huge variety in structures, functions, and states of preservation or decay amongst the castles in this gorgeous country....
Out of the many castles we visited in our two-week trip to Scotland, Duone Castle (pronounced “doon”) was one of my favorites and one I highly recommend. ...
Arran is often described as “Scotland in miniature” featuring highlands and glens in the north and gentler rolling terrain in the south. With so much beauty and variety within a day trip’s reach of Scotland’s most populous city it’s no wonder that Arran is a popular place to visit....
Brodick Castle is well worth a visit. We spent two hours here but we could have easily spent the entire day. In two hours we saw the castle and garden but barely any of the trails....
Dunstaffnage Castle is in a state of partial ruin. The castle gatehouse does have a roof and wood floors on the three explorable levels, accessed by the original stone spiral staircase which eventually leads up to the castle wall walk. What a view! The kitchen section of the castle is in a much more advanced state of ruin....
Castle Stalker, set on an islet in Loch Linnhe at the mouth of little Loch Laich near the village of Appin, is one of the more iconic Medieval castles in Scotland. Monty Python fans will surely recognize it as “Castle Aargh!”, the setting for the final scene of Monty Python and the Holy Grail....
Edinburgh Castle is perhaps Scotland’s most iconic landmark as well as its most visited single attraction with around 2.25 million visitors annually. Contained within the imposing stone walls are the country’s most treasured possessions, kept in the place where so much of Scottish history actually happened. ...
Fort Stevens State Parks occupies the extreme northwest corner of Oregon, where the mighty Columbia River finally empties in the Pacific Ocean. This sprawling 4,300-acre park includes miles of beaches, gorgeous coastal forests, a huge river bay, and two lakes. But unlike most Oregon State Parks, the history of humans at this location is the star of the show....
